Why Microsoft, why? According to the latest reports, Microsoft has banned the ability for netbooks to have hybrid storage systems, like the MSI Wind U115. The Wind U115 Hybrid netbook has this technology and, according to some tests, has the best battery life (for a netbook). Microsoft, though, doesn't like this and now the Wind U115 is being pulled from store shelves, which is a big disappointment. If you can't find it in stores, the MSI Wind U115 is still being sold on the official site (for $500 USD), but who knows how long it will be up for.

With WWDC just 2 days away, supposed 3rd-gen iPhone pictures are leaking out left and right. Today's could be the best representation of it though. It replaces the chrome finish with a black plastic matte backing that everyone's been hinting at. Believe it or not but this picture actually shows a different iPhone than the one we saw yesterday. This iPhone does not have the headphone jack on the bottom of the phone. However, sources say this iPhone will: come in 3 different storages (8GB, 16GB, 32GB), be 3mm thinner (than the iPhone 3G), come in white and black, and will also be available in France on February 9.

Yes, the availability is much, much farther than most expected, but it's just a rumour. I don't believe the availability date and I actually think yesterday's pictures were more accurate than today's. For yesterday's pictures, check out this link via Slash Gear.

At Computex this year, Acer has shown off their latest ultrathin laptop, this time for the business world. The unnamed notebook has: a 13.3-inch display, up to 4GB of RAM, Intel's GMA 4500MHD graphics, a multi-touch trackpad, WiFi, 3 USB 2.0 slots, a built-in microphone / headphone jack, Ethernet, and a battery long enough to, supposedly, last 8+ hours. If you fork over a little bit more cash, you can upgrade the standard graphics for ATI's Radeon HD 4330. This ultrathin notebook is expected to be available next month, but the price hasn't been mentioned yet.

At Computex, the Mtube II netbook / tablet was shown off. And yes, I'm sure you have no clue what I'm talking about. If you take a look at the picture above, you will see a netbook. The good thing here is that you can actually remove the screen, if you want to use it as a tablet. The sad thing here is that the netbook version is running on a VIA C7-M CPU, which is considerably slower than the Atom CPUs out there.

When used as a netbook it will be running Windows XP and when used as a tablet, it will be running Android. Another sad part though is that, when used as a tablet, it will be running on another VIA CPU (unspecified model). One last sad point is that, when used a netbook, the base is connected to the detachable display using VNC, "so video performance isn't going to be all that great." This is a very interesting design and I hope that some big names out there can utilize this design in some of their future models. Windows 7 netbook + Android tablet in one? Sounds like a win to me.

If you're reading this right now, you're probably already too late. The Palm Pre is now available at Sprint stores and select Best Buy / Radio Shack / Wal-Mart locations. Shortages for the Palm Pre could hurt them, seeing how some people are expecting a $99 iPhone in the near future. Rumour has it that after WWDC, the next iPhone will be available already.

First announced at CES, the ViewSonic VPC100 all-in-one is now available, starting at just $600 USD. I didn't cover it at CES, so I'll give you the brief run-through right now. The VPC100 is now available with: an 18.5-inch display with a 1,366 x 768 resolution, an Intel Atom 1.6GHz N270 CPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 160GB HDD, Intel GMA 950 graphics, 4 USB 2.0 slots, a 4-in-1 card reader, and 802.11b/g WiFi. It's now available on Newegg for $600 USD.

According to this Best Buy memo, people who buy a PC after June 26 will be getting a free copy of Windows 7 when it gets released on October 22. Yes, it will be a free upgrade. Take a look at the memo (above) for yourself because there's nothing much I can talk about.

As you may or may not know, Garmin-Asus's Nuvifone G60 smartphone has been delayed time and time again. According to Garmin's COO, Cliff Pemble, they expect to release this smartphone in Asia sometime this month and the US release date is, apparently, "getting very close." Should we trust this guy? We'll just have to see what happens because I'm pretty sure some people have lost interest in this smartphone.

A couple of days ago, a small picture of the supposed Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 was released. Well, here's a significantly larger picture of the same XPERIA X2 (just slightly different colours on the QWERTY keyboard). If you take a look at the picture below it is clear that this so-called XPERIA X2 will have an upgraded 8.1MP camera with a flash. This phone should - overall-wise - be a better phone than the XPERIA X1. I hope they choose a capacitive touchscreen over a resistive this time around. We'll just have to see what Sony Ericsson does in the future, hopefully they don't file for chapter 11 before the phone gets released.